Midnight With Donna!
by MissDoctorDonna
Summary: Donna decided to go on a tour to see a Sapphire Waterfall with the Doctor, to keep him out of trouble. Sadly, she ends up knee deep in trouble with him. Spoilers for Midnight.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. I think I've burned a hole in my dvd, watching, pausing and rewatching the Midnight episode to capture Russell T. Davies fabulous words. Any brilliant dialogue in this story is his, not mine. I apologise to purists, but I simply wanted Donna to play a bigger part in this story.**

Donna sighed as she lay relaxing on a sunbed by the pool, the sun filtering down and warming her gently. The Doctor had finally listened to her requests for a relaxing holiday, and brought her to a spa planet called Midnight. He'd been insistent upon her going on some tour with him, but she'd stood her ground. The crestfallen look on his face had nearly undone her, but then she remembered the lectures she'd have gotten on the wonders of the waterfall, and her resolve had strengthened. Ensconced in her soft, terry towelling robe, she wondered who she had to kill to get another drink.

Suddenly, the peaceful atmosphere, with its gentle music was rudely interrupted by the ringing of a telephone. Looking up, Donna saw an attendant with the offensive object in his hand. Knowing that it could only be the Doctor, Donna grabbed it and snapped, "I said, no!"

"Sapphire waterfall – it's a waterfall made of sapphires!" The Doctor wasn't ready to admit defeat.

Donna smiled indulgently, saying nothing.

"This enormous jewel, size of a glacier, reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion, and then shatters into sapphires at the edge, they fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine." He was pleading with her and he hated it, but something was niggling at him and he really wanted Donna to come with him.

"I bet you say that to all the girls." Feeling her resolve weaken, Donna tried to fob him off with a flippant answer. The Doctor was rarely this needy, almost begging for her company. Donna frowned a little bit, wondering if perhaps she should go if it meant so much to him.

"Oh, come on! They're boarding now! It's no fun if I see it on my own. Four hours, that's all it takes," he wheedled, detecting a hint of weakness, maybe she was reconsidering.

Suddenly reminded of how long it would take, Donna replied, "No, that's four hours there and four hours back, it's like a school trip. I'd rather go sunbathing."

Feeling a surge of concern for her, the Doctor cautioned, "You be careful, that's Xtonic sunlight."

Smiling at his protective tone, she reassured him. "Oh, I'm safe. It says in the brochure this glass is fifteen feet thick."

"All right. I give up. I'll be back for dinner; we'll try that anti-gravity restaurant. With bibs." The Doctor wound up the conversation dejectedly.

"That's a date. Well, not a date. Oh, you know what I mean. Oh get off!" Grinning at her clumsy attempt to cover up her faux pas, she waited for his response.

The Doctor had felt a little warmth in his chest at the thought of a date with Donna and quickly repressed it. He was only her mate, after all. "See you later."

"Oi! You be careful, all right?" Donna was a bit worried at his lack of response to her gaff.

"Nah. Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight – what could possibly go wrong?" Hanging up the phone, he shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched over to the boarding gate.

Donna cut off the call, looked at the handset for all of thirty seconds and ran for the changing room. She knew exactly what sort of things could go wrong when the Doctor was left to his own devices. And she wasn't going to let anything happen to him – not on her watch!

The Doctor was sitting in his seat watching the last of the passengers board. The Hostess was talking to a woman called Sky, who was sitting near the Doctor.

"Complementary juice pack and complementary…"

"Just the headphones, please." Sky replied in a bored voice.

"There you go." The Hostess passed Sky the headphones and turned to the Doctor, beginning to hand things to him. "That's the headphones for Channels 1 to 36; modern link for 3D vidgames; complementary earplugs; complementary slippers; complementary juice pack; and complementary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

"That'll be the peanuts," joked the Time Lord, gamely trying to perk up his mood. He'd really wanted Donna to come with him. Where was the fun of seeing the wonders of the universe without his best mate?

"Enjoy your trip," droned the Hostess in a mechanical sort of way.

Grinning maniacally, he chirped, "Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y!"

Frowning slightly, the Hostess asked, "I'm sorry?"

The Doctor's head spun around to the door, as a wonderfully familiar and sarky voice answered, "It's French for let's go! He says it all the time. Bloody idiot."

The Hostess scanned Donna's ticket, muttering, "Fascinating."

Donna's eyebrow rose at the disdain in the Hostess' voice, growling back, "Yeah, well, fork over the nibblies and stuff. I'll be sitting next to the nutcase." Settling herself in next to the Doctor, she took the offerings from the Hostess and set about making herself comfortable. Once she was satisfied with her surroundings, she looked at the Doctor who was gazing at her happily. "What?"

"You came," he announced, grabbing her hand and bouncing slightly in his seat.

Making a grab for the packet of peanuts he'd managed to dislodge from his lap, she squeezed his hand and said, "God knows what trouble you'd land your skinny butt in, if I left you alone. But I'm warning you now, Skinny Boy, I'm sleeping on the way there and you'd better shut up and let me. I've had a number of cocktails and I'm a bit pissed. They put waaaay more alcohol in them on this planet. Unless you want to carry me to this waterfall, you'd better let me sleep them off."

Murmuring soothingly, he stroked her hand, not bothering to correct her assumption that they'd have to walk to see the waterfall. "Okay, you sleep. I'm sure I can find someone to talk to…"

Donna looked at his eyes, shining with what she suspected was relief, and patted his hand with a fond smile. Then she handed him his peanuts, as well as her own, much to his delight and settled herself against the side of the shuttle to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, the Hostess had moved on to the people sitting behind them, offering, "Headphones for channels 1 to 36…"

Professor Hobbes cut her off quickly, "Oh no, thank you, not for us!"

His assistant, Dee Dee Blasco, hastily interjected, "Earplugs, please."

With a supercilious smile, the Hostess handed them over. "There you go."

Professor Hobbes turned and started lecturing his assistant, "They call it a sapphire waterfall, but it's no such thing, sapphire's an aluminium oxide, but the glacier is just a compound silica with iron pigmentation!"

The Hostess moved on to the married couple, Val and Biff Kane, handing them the complementary goods. Thanking her, their attention is drawn back to the condescending tone of the Professor.

"Have you got that pillow for my neck?" He demanded of Dee Dee.

Meekly, she replied, "Yes, sir."

Undeterred from his grumpiness, he further demanded, "And the pills?"

"Yes, all measured out for you, there you go."

Seeing that Donna had indeed fallen asleep, the Doctor knelt on his seat to look over the back at the Professor and Dee Dee.

Noting the sudden appearance of the Doctor's cheerfully earnest face, the Professor introduced himself with a pompous air. "Hobbes! Professor Winfold Hobbes!"

Grinning, the Time Lord replied, "I'm the Doctor, hello!" Reaching out to shake the Professor's hand, he looked enquiringly at the woman with the Professor.

Ignoring the look, the Professor exclaimed, "It's my 14th time!"

Attention drawn back to the man, the Doctor replied mildly, "Oh! My first."

"I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco," piped up the bookish looking young woman.

The Doctor grinned at her in turn, as he shook the hand she offered. Opening his mouth, to introduce his sleeping companion, he was interrupted by the Professor.

"Now don't bother the man! Where's my water bottle?"

Looking away from his newly met friends, the Doctor's attention was captured by the family on board. The Hostess was offering the complementary goods to Jethro, a sullen looking teenager sitting some distance from his parents.

Val said to her son in a shrill voice, "Don't be silly, come and sit with us. Look! We get slippers!"

"Jethro! Do what your mother says," commanded Biff.

Unimpressed, the teen merely grunted, "I'm sitting here."

"Oh, he's ashamed of us. But he doesn't mind us paying, does he?" Biff commented bitterly to his wife.

Trying to smooth things over, she replied, "Oh, don't you two start. Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and clementine."

The Hostess had moved to the front of the shuttle to address the passengers. "Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader 50, if you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors!"

The Doctor looked curiously, as the doors sealed.

"Shields down!" Instructed the Hostess.

Redirecting his bright eyed gaze, the Time Lord watched the shields descend over the windows.

Continuing her pre-flight speech, the Hostess went on, "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also a reminder, Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it… you first." Laughing gaily to indicate the absurdity of that idea, she then said, "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

The driver's voice came over the tannoy system, "Driver Joe at the wheel! There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. The journey covers 500 kliks to the Multifaceted Coast; duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!"

Fascinated, the Doctor studied the map when it came up on the screen. Then he glanced at Donna, who was peacefully sleeping through all the noise. The engines accelerated as the shuttle started to move. The Doctor gave an excited little bounce and turned his attention back to the Hostess.

"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth Classics." The Hostess pushed a button on her remote, causing screens to appear in front of each passenger showing Raffaello Cara singing "Do It Do It Again."

"Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein." She pushed another button to start a holographic show.

"Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat – the Animation Archives." Turning on a projector, old cartoons appeared on the screens.

"Four hours of funtime! Enjoy!" She announced in a flat tone that conflicted with her statement and beamed a false smile at them.

The Doctor stared in dismay at the multiple screens, the cacophony of sounds coming from them assaulting his delicate Time Lord senses. He looked around at his fellow passengers, noting that nobody but the married couple were enjoying it. Donna's face was frowning slightly and she shifted a little and muttered. Alarmed that she'd wake up and blame him, the Doctor immediately used his sonic screwdriver to surreptitiously turn off all the screens. He looked over at Sky, smiling when she smirked at him.

"Well, that's a mercy!" Exclaimed Professor Hobbes, from behind him.

Scurrying forward, using her remote in a futile attempt to reactivate the screens, the Hostess cried, "I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon. We seem to have had a failure of the Entertainment System."

Feigning disappointment, the Doctor sighed, "Ooh."

Sincerely upset, Val burst out with, "But what do we do?"

"We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just… sitting her?" Biff was just as upset.

A grin split the Doctor's face as he turned to his fellow passengers, suggesting, "Tell you what! We'll have to talk to each other instead!"

His enthusiasm was met with bewildered looks. So he started out with a round of introductions – who people were, where they were from – and then told them a funny story from his travels. He carefully manoeuvred the conversation in such a way that he merely introduced himself as a traveller called the Doctor. He didn't bother to introduce his sleeping companion, thinking she'd do so for herself when she woke up. Pretty soon, he had everyone but Sky, Donna and Jethro drawn into an animated story telling session. Sky remained in her seat, reading her book. Donna continued to sleep peacefully and Jethro seemed determined to maintain his moody teenager persona, pretending he wasn't listening and hiding his amusement.

2174


	2. Chapter 2

98 kliks into the journey, Donna started to stir, in time to hear Val saying, "So Biff said, 'I'm going swimming.'"

Biff chimed in with, "Oh, I was all ready, trunks and everything! Nose plug!"

Laughing, Val said, "He had this little nose plug, you should've seen him."

"And I went marching up to the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni, you know, those big foreheads?" Biff chortled, as the Doctor gestured to his own forehead to show he got the reference.

Val echoed, "Great big forehead!"

Biff went on, "And I said, where's the pool? And he said…"

Biff and Val looked at each other and shrieked, "The pool is abstract!"

Jethro mouthed the punchline along with his parents, having heard this story ad nauseum.

Laughing breathlessly, Val explained, "It wasn't a real pool!"

"It was a concept!" Biff shook his head at the memory.

The Doctor was enchanted by the story. "And you wore a nose plug!"

"I was like this!" Biff pinched his nose before saying, "Mmm… where's the pool?"

Everyone burst out laughing, half waking Donna. She shuffled into a more comfortable position, smiling to herself as she realised that the Doctor had found other people to occupy him. Snorting a bit of a laugh, as she drifted back to sleep, she thought she may as well have stayed on the planet.

After about 150 kliks, Donna was still asleep and the story session had petered out. The Doctor found himself in the galley getting coffee with Dee Dee.

"I'm just a second year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as a researcher. Just for the holidays. Well, I say researcher, most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience!"

Nodding, the Doctor asked, "And did they ever find it?"

Puzzled, Dee Dee stared at him and asked, "Find what?"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh!"

Laughing, Dee Dee replied, "Oh no! Not yet!"

"Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery, one day. Here's to Poosh!" The Doctor smiled and saluted Dee Dee with his coffee cup. He really shouldn't drink coffee. It would make him hyper and Donna would slap him when he annoyed her.

Dee Dee raised her own cup and cried, "Poosh!"

After 209 kliks, the Hostess served the meals. Donna was still sleeping, so the Doctor sat next to Sky to eat.

"Donna and I travel around together. She almost stayed behind in the Leisure Palace, but I talked her into coming. I don't like sightseeing on my own. You?"

Shaking her head, Sky concentrated on unfolding her napkin as she said, "No, it's just me."

Sensing he may have barged into sensitive territory, the Doctor hastily back tracked. "Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want! Go anywhere!"

Sighing, Sky replied, "No, I'm still getting used to it. I've… found myself single rather recently, not by choice."

Curious as always and without Donna to act as his censor chip, he asked, "What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Sky replied, "Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact, I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"

Remembering Rose, the doctor sobered and said sadly, "Yeah… I had a friend who went to a different universe."

Deciding it was time to change the subject, Sky poked at her meal and asked him, "Well, what's this, chicken or beef?"

The Doctor held a piece that he'd speared on his fork in front of his face, saying thoughtfully, "I think it's both." They studied the mystery meat, as the Doctor held it aloft.

Donna opened her eyes briefly after 250 kliks and saw that the old bloke who'd been sitting behind her was conducting a slideshow. She yawned, listening as she debated whether or not to stay awake. Her stomach rumbled and she rubbed it, as she wondered if she'd missed the meal. She wasn't feeling very well and thought her earlier consumption of alien alcohol may not have been a good idea.

Professor Hobbes was talking enthusiastically, "So, this is Midnight, d'you see? Bombarded by the sun! Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide! It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because you see… the history is fascinating, because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system, there couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no-one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

On the whole, Donna decided she'd rather continue to snooze, as listening to the Professor was giving her terrible flashbacks to her school trips. But first she had quite a compelling call of nature to answer, so made her way back to the loo, clutching her protesting stomach. She smiled weakly at the Doctor when he gave her a jaunty wave as she pushed past him. At least he was enjoying himself, she thought grimly.

Jethro piped up with, "But how d'you know? I mean, if no-one can go outside…"

Rolling her eyes, Val said in exasperation, "Oh, his imagination! Here we go!"

"He's got a point, though," said the Doctor, reasonably.

Professor Hobbes smiled and exclaimed, "Exactly! We look upon this world through glass. Safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

The Doctor was distracted by an ominous rattling noise, just before the engines fell silent.

Val immediately asked, "We've stopped. Have we stopped?"

"Are we there?" Biff jumped to the most logical conclusion.

Shaking her head, Dee Dee said, "We can't be, it's too soon."

Professor Hobbes looked mildly alarmed as he stated, "They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop."

The Hostess tried to rein in the panic that threatened to spill over. "If you could just… return to your seats, it's… just a small delay." Confused, she moved to the intercom to try and find out what the problem was from the driver.

Trying to reassure his wife, Biff suggested, "Maybe it's just a pit stop?"

"What's going on?" The Hostess barked into the intercom.

"There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition 14 times, they never stop." Professor Hobbes' voice rang out with authority.

Sky's snide voice cut in with, "Well evidently, we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it."

Jethro laughed, chortling, "We've broken down!"

His mother tried to shut him up, saying sharply, "Thanks, Jethro."

Undeterred, Jethro continued to laugh, saying, "In the middle of nowhere!"

Biff commanded, "That's enough, now stop it!"

The Hostess came back to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, we're just experiencing a short… delay. The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."

Frowning, the Doctor strode towards the cockpit.

Moving to block him, the Hostess called, "No, I'm sorry sir, I… could you please…"

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at her, saying, "There you go, engine expert! Two ticks!" Opening the door, he entered the cockpit.

"Sorry sir, if you could just sit down! You're not supposed to be in there…" The Hostess desperately tried to get the Doctor to return to his seat.

The doors closed behind the Doctor, shutting the Hostess off.

Turning to his visitor, Driver Joe said distractedly, "Sorry, if you could return to your seat, sir…"

Flashing his psychic paper, the Doctor said smoothly, "Company insurance, let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're stabilising the engine feeds, won't take long."

The Doctor reached across and tapped a screen, saying, "Um, no, 'cos that's the engine feed, that light there, and it's fine, and it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilising doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry! I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"

The man beside the driver spoke up, "We just stopped, look, all systems fine and everything's working, but we're not moving."

Checking with his sonic, the Doctor nodded, "Yeah, you're right. No faults. And who are you?"

"Claude, I'm the mechanic. Trainee."

Distracted, the Doctor muttered, "Nice to meet you."

"I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed," Driver Joe informed the Doctor.

Looking thoughtful, the Time Lord queried, "How long 'til they get here?"

"About an hour."

"Well, since we're waiting… shall we take a look outside? Just… lift the screens a bit?" The Doctor suggested, smiling beguilingly, as he waited for them to come around.

Driver Joe looked at him like he's grown a second head. "It's 100% Xtonic out there, we'd be vaporised."

Waving the driver's concerns away airily, the Doctor argued, "Naaaaaah, those windows are Finitoglass, they'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on! Live a little!"

Giving in, the driver raised the shields a little and the three men stared at the landscape, mesmerised.

Wishing that Donna was there to see it, the Doctor murmured, "Ohhh, that is beautiful…"

"Look at all those diamonds! Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them," wondered the mechanic, awestruck.

"Joe, you said we took a detour?" The Doctor turned his mind back to the matter at hand.

Nodding, Driver Joe said, "Just about 40 kliks to the west."

"Is that a recognised path?"

"No, it's a new one; the computer worked it out, on automatic."

"So, we're the first? This piece of ground. No-one's ever been her before. Not in the whole of recorded history." The Doctor was thrilled by his new discovery and wondered if he should go and get Donna.

Startled, the mechanic broke into the Doctor and Joe's conversation with, "Did you just…? No, sorry, it's… nothing."

"What did you see?" The Doctor asked urgently, as he immediately resumed his scrutiny of the landscape.

Pointing, Claude replied, "Just there. That ridge. Like… like a shadow. Just, just for a second."

"What sort of shadow?"

An alarm rang out and the driver moved to press buttons, saying, "Xtonic rising! Shields down."

Claude pointed again, saying urgently, "Look, look, there it is, there it is, look, there!"

Turning quickly, the Doctor queried sharply, "Where? What was it?"

Shaken, Claude said, "Like, just, something… shifting, something sort of… dark. Like it was… running."

"Running which way?"

Gulping, Claude replied in a slightly higher than normal voice, "Towards us…"

Joe turned to the Doctor, saying firmly, "Right, Doctor, back to your seat and not a word, rescue's on its way. If you could close the door, thank you."

Returning to the passenger compartment, the Doctor was immediately pounced on by Sky, who demanded, "What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it, what's wrong?"

Trying to avoid mass panic, the Doctor smiled and said blandly, "Oh, just stabilising, happens all the time."

Her fists clenched to the sides of her rigid body, Sky exclaimed nervously, "I don't need this. I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary!"

The Hostess shepherded them towards their seats, saying firmly, "Back to your seats, thank you." Having ensured that they were returning to their seats, she went to the cockpit.

Donna, meanwhile, was not feeling at all well. Something she'd drunk on that bloody planet had not agreed with her. Having expelled her stomach contents painfully, she huddled miserably in the tiny loo. Wondering why the Doctor hadn't checked on her, she waited for the horrendous stomach cramps to pass. There was no way she would be leaving this room anytime soon. Groaning, she leaned her burning forehead on the cool wall as she shivered violently. Bloody Spaceman and his stupid planet, so much for a relaxing holiday.

Leaning forward, Dee Dee asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?"

"Now, don't bother the man," growled Professor Hobbes.

Dee Dee persisted, "My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilise, what does 'stabilise' mean?"

Jethro leaned over on the spare seat next to him, in order to eavesdrop on Dee Dee and the Doctor's conversation.

Looking a bit uncomfortable, the Doctor hedged, "Weeeell. Bit of flim flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out."

Suddenly alarmed, the Professor queried, "So it's not the engines?"

"It's just a little pause, that's all," hedged the Doctor again.

"How much air have we got?" The Professor asked loudly.

The Doctor could smell the fear rising, so firmly assured the older looking man, "Professor, it's fine."

Val's ears had pricked up and she demanded, "What did he say?"

Trying to maintain calm, the Doctor replied, "Nothing!"

Not to be put off, Val cried loudly, "Are we running out of air?"

Professor Hobbes huffed, "I was just speculating…"

Seeing the Hostess return from the cockpit, Biff called to her, "Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?"

Her panic spiralling, Val shrieked, "Is that what the Captain said?"

Dismayed, the Hostess made calming motions with her hands, saying, "If you could all just remain calm…"

There was no calming Val though. Undeterred, she demanded, "How much air have we got?"

Thoroughly embarrassed and a little bit freaked out, Jethro muttered, "Mum, just stop it."

The Hostess replied calmly, "I assure you, everything is under control."

Feeding off his wife's hysteria, Biff yelled, "Well, doesn't look like it to me!"

Pointing at the Doctor, Val cried, "Well, he said it."

Dee Dee tried to inject a note of reason, telling them, "… it's fine, the air is on a circular filter…"

Continuing to point at the Doctor, Val accused, "… he started it…"

As everyone started to talk at once, the Doctor tried to get their attention. He called, "Everyone…"

Ignoring him, they continued to shout. Trying again, the Doctor said, "Shhh shhh shhh… QUIET!"

In the loo, Donna was just washing her hands and face, feeling marginally better. Hearing the Doctor's raised voice, she hurried up with her ablutions, wondering what trouble he'd managed to get himself into now.

Silence fell as the Doctor bellowed the last word. Looking around he continued in a quieter voice, "Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee…" He inclined his head, indicating that she should speak to the others.

Looking at him, she jumped as she got the hint. "Oh" Um… it's just that… well, the air's on a circular filter so… we could stay breathing for ten years."

Keeping his voice low and calming, the Doctor turned to the others. "There you go! And I've spoken to the Captain, I can guarantee you, everything's fine."

Just then, two loud knocks ran out from the roof of the shuttle, making them all jump.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Val wailed, clutching her husband, "What was that?"

Professor Hobbes supposed, "It must be the metal. We're cooling down, it's just settling…"

"Rocks. Could be rocks falling," offered Dee Dee tentatively.

Patting his wife absent-mindedly, Biff said, "What I want to know is, how long we have to sit here."

The double knocking boomed through the shuttle again. It repeated from different directions. Jethro jumped violently as it sounded from the wall next to him.

Donna started at the knocking and struggled with the recalcitrant handle of the loo. Why wouldn't it unlatch? She was stuck in the loo, when god knew what was happening outside. She wanted to get to the Doctor, but whether it was to keep him safe or so he could keep her safe, she wasn't sure. Raising her hand, she went to bang on the door and yell for her friend to come with his sonic and release her from her malodorous little prison. As she banged, the booming knocks cancelled out the sounds her puny fists made. Hesitantly, Donna murmured, "Who's there?"

Sky yelped, "What is that?"

Val called, "is someone out there?"

Turning on her, Professor Hobbes said angrily, "Now, don't be ridiculous!"

"Like I said, it could be rocks." Dee Dee was trying to stay calm.

"We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides," the Hostess dismissed the theory absently.

Two more knocks rang out.

"Knock, knock," muttered the Doctor.

Jethro smirked and replied, "Who's there?"

Softly, Sky asked, "Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?" More knocking was her only answer. Agitated, she demanded of the Hostess, "What the hell is making that noise?"

Professor Hobbes told her, in his most condescending voice, "I'm sorry, but the light out here is Xtonic, that means it would destroy any living thing, in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."

The two knocks sounded again. Sky demanded, "Well, what the hell is that, then?"

In the loo, Donna had given up on getting anyone's attention. The room seemed to have one way soundproofing. The latch stubbornly refused to open, so she'd turned her attention to the hinges. Thankfully, they were on the inside of the door, thereby making it possible for her to work the pins out of them – in theory. Maybe then she could bounce the door open enough to wrench it all the way open. She didn't have enough room to kick it down, nor could she get enough of a run up to shoulder it down. How the hell people managed to have sex in these tiny rooms was beyond her.

Producing his stethoscope from his pocket, the Doctor moved to the wall where they'd last heard the knocks coming from and listened.

Alarmed, the Hostess protested, "Sir! You really should get back to your seat."

"Hello?" The Doctor called, curious rather than frightened.

The knocking rang out again this time from the rear fire exit door.

Looking in that direction, Jethro noted, "It's moving…"

Suddenly, there was a rattling noise as though something was trying to get in.

Clutching harder to Biff, Val called in a voice that was seriously starting to grate on the Doctor's nerves, "It's trying the door!"

Trying to convince himself, as much as the others, Professor Hobbes said, "There is no 'it', there's nothing out there. Can't be."

The entity outside rattled at the door again, before going around the shuttle again. Always double knocks. The roof and then the side door.

Val and Biff spun to face the door, to which they'd had their back. Val exclaimed nervously, "That's the entrance. Can it get in?"

Shaking her head, Dee Dee reassured her, "No, that door's on two hundred weight of hydraulics."

The Professor said to her gruffly, "Stop it. Don't encourage them."

Deferring to him, she asked, "What do you think it is?"

Biff strode over to the door. Val whimpered, "Biff, don't…"

"Mr Kane, better not…" cautioned the Doctor.

Biff disregarded their warnings, saying, "Nah, it's caste iron, that door…" He knocked on it three times to prove its solidity.

The entity knocked on the outside… three times.

Val cried in a strangled voice, "Three times! Did you hear that, it did it three times?"

"It answered!" Jethro was morbidly thrilled.

Still stunned, Val repeated, "It did it three times!"

Not liking the thick tension in the air, the Doctor called, "All right, all right, all right, everyone, calm down."

Sky refused to be placated. "No, but it answered, it… answered, don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!"

Three more knocks sounded insistently. Val inhaled noisily with fear.

"I really must insist you get back to your seats!" The Hostess tried desperately to maintain some sort of order.

Sky shouted back nervously, "No! Don't just stand there telling us the rules! You're the hostess; you're supposed to do something!"

Going to the door, the Doctor knocked four times and after a brief pause filled with the loud, frightened gasps of the other passengers, was answered with four knocks.

Completely panicked, Sky started to babble as the other passengers watched her unravel. "What is it, what the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it, make it stop, somebody make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me, it's not my fault, he started it with his stories…"

Dee Dee called, "Calm down!"

Sky continued as though she hadn't heard, "… and he made it worse…"

Val shouted, "You're not helping!"

Sky never even paused, her hysteria mounting, "… why couldn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!"

Trying again, Dee Dee called, "Calm down!"

The knocking became continuous. In panic, Sky backed towards the cockpit door, as the knocking followed her progress. She chanted, "It's coming for me, ohh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me… It's coming for me! It's coming for me!" Then she screamed.

Moving and reaching towards her, the Doctor warned, "Get out of there!"

The whole shuttle rocked, lights out and sparks flying, as everyone tumbled from side to side. Screams echoed around the enclosed space, before the shuttle stopped moving. There were gasps and groans, as well as the discordant notes of the entertainment system, in the ominous and dark stillness.

Clinging to Val, Biff asked, "All right? OK."

Hauling himself up off the floor, using the seat in front of him as a climbing frame, the Doctor gasped and blinked. Talking to himself as he ran a self diagnostic, he muttered, "Argh.. Arms. Legs. Neck. Head. Nose. I'm fine…" Turning, he looked briefly at the screen where Raffaella Cara continued singing, asking, "Everyone else?" Then he turned and looked at his fellow passengers.

On the screen behind the Doctor, Raffaella Cara disappeared and for a few seconds, she was replaced by Rose Tyler frantically shouting, "Doctor!" But her voice couldn't be heard and she disappeared again, unnoticed as the screen went black.

The Doctor eyed his fellow passengers, breathing heavily and asking, "How are we, everyone all right?" Suddenly remembering Donna, he looked around frantically. How could he have forgotten about her! Where was she? The last he'd seen her, she was heading to the bathroom. But that was ages ago, she wouldn't still be there, would she? "Donna? Donna, where are? Answer me! I'm so sorry I forgot about you… DONNA!"

Donna was on the floor of the loo, dazed after hitting her head when they were being thrown back and forth. Her fingers were bloodied from trying to wrench the pins out of the hinges and left smears on her face, when she ran her hand over the large, painful bump on her forehead. She heard the Doctor calling for her and tried to get up, gasping in agony as her bruised ribs protested. Oh, she was going to give him such a slap for forgetting about her. After the effort of trying to stand up, spots appeared in front of her eyes, her vision swam and then everything went black.

Shakily, Professor Hobbes muttered, "Earthquake, must be…"

Dee Dee argued, hugging her ribs, "But that's impossible, the ground is fixed, it's solid."

"We've got torches, everyone, take a torch, they're in the back of the seats," the Hostess announced. Taking them, they all started looking around.

Jethro moved towards the front of the shuttle, prompting his anxious mother to follow him.

Val crooned, "Oh, Jethro, sweetheart, come here…"

Shaking her off, he said, "Never mind me, what about her?" Gesturing to the front of the shuttle, he pointed his torchlight at Sky, sitting motionless among the ruined seats, her back to the others.

"What happened to the seats?" cried Val.

Biff demanded, "Who did that?"

"They've been ripped up," pointed out Val, redundantly.

The Doctor had searched through the chairs for Donna, but was distracted from his search by the sight of Sky. Murmuring soothingly, he moved towards her, "it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, it's over. We're still alive… Look, the wall's still intact. D'you see?" He pointed his torch at the wall in front of Sky, showing a bulge in it but no breach.

The Hostess was trying to reach the driver via the intercom, "Joe, Claude?"

Still focussing on Sky, the Doctor murmured, "We're safe."

"Driver Joe, can you hear me?" Slamming the intercom down, the Hostess moved forward. "I'm not getting any response, the intercom must be down." Opening the door of the cockpit, bright light blinded everyone and they screamed until the Hostess closed the door again.

Val shrieked, "What happened? What was that?"

Biff yelled, "Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?"

The Hostess replied hollowly, "The cabin's gone."

"Don't be ridiculous. It can't be gone, how can it be gone?" scoffed Professor Hobbes.

"Well, but you saw it!" squeaked Dee Dee.

The Hostess said, "There was nothing there, like it was ripped away."

"What are you doing?" demanded Biff, pointing his torch at the Doctor who was fiddling with a panel on the front wall with his sonic.

Smiling as the lights came back up, the Doctor said, "That's better, bit of light, thank you. Molto bene!"

"D'you know what you're doing?" asked Val, in her strident voice.

Biff called, "The cabin's gone, you'd better leave that wall alone."

Professor Hobbes protested again, as though trying to convince himself as well as the others, "The cabin can't be gone!"

Distractedly, the Doctor replied, "No, it's safe, any rupture would automatically seal itself…" He paused to yank off the panel, staring at the severed cables. "But something sliced it off. You're right. The cabin's gone."

"But if it gets separated…" the Hostess said brokenly.

"It loses integrity. I'm sorry, they've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way. They saved our lives! We're going to get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they're going to find us." Realising that he may have broken some tragic news in a callous manner, he tried to end on a positive note.

The Hostess sobbed a little at his announcement that the driver and mechanic had been vaporised, whilst the Professor, Dee Dee and Biff gasped in horror.

Jethro had been watching Sky, who was still in the same position, and interrupted, "Doctor. Look at her."

The Doctor turned to sky. "Right, yes, sorry… Have we got a medical kit?"

"Why won't she turn around?" asked Jethro.

Good question, thought the Doctor.

"What's her name?" rasped Professor Hobbes.

"Silvestry. M-Mrs Sky S-Silvestry," stammered the Hostess.

Moving forward to crouch beside her, the Doctor called, "Sky? Can you hear me? Are you all right? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me?"

"That noise, from the outside…" began Jethro.

His mother made an indeterminate sound of fear, flashing her torch up over the roof.

"It's stopped."

"Well, thank God for that," she snapped.

"But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?" Jethro continued.

"Inside? Where?" Val looked around her apprehensively.

Looking at Sky, Jethro said, "It was heading for her."

"Sky… it's all right, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me." The Doctor coaxed her like she was a frightened child. Slowly, she turned around and stared at him with wide eyes, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Her head movements were jerky, as she turned to look at the other passengers, before returning her gaze to the Doctor. They stared at each other, Sky tilted her head to mirror the Doctor's actions. The Doctor prompted, "Sky?"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Looking back at the Doctor, Sky repeated, "Sky?"

"Are you all right?" asked the Doctor.

"Are you all right?" Sky parroted.

"Are you hurt?" he tried again.

"Are you hurt?" she mimicked.

"You don't have to talk," he said kindly.

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm trying to help," he said, bewildered by her behaviour.

"I'm trying to help."

"My name's the Doctor," he tried, hoping to get her to respond on her own.

"My name's the Doctor."

"OK, can you stop?" he pleaded with her, vaguely distressed, as he remembered a similar game being used to taunt him as a student.

"OK, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop," the Doctor said firmly.

"I'd like you to stop."

"Why's she doing that?" asked Professor Hobbes.

Turning to him, Sky repeated, "Why's she doing that?"

Biff muttered, "She's gone mad."

Looking to Biff, Sky repeated, "She's gone mad."

Val snapped, "Stop it."

Fixing her gaze to Val, Sky said, "Stop it."

"I said stop it!" yelled Val.

"I said stop it!" yelled Sky.

"I don't think she can," Dee Dee observed.

"I don't think she can."

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny," blustered the Professor.

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny."

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you," soothed the Doctor.

"Shh, shh, shh, all of you."

With a look of amusement, Jethro called, "My name's Jethro!"

"My name's Jethro!"

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!" said the Doctor, urgently.

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!"

Turning his attention back to Sky, the Doctor asked, "Why are you repeating?"

"Why are you repeating?"

Rephrasing, he asked, "What is that, learning?"

"What is that, learning?"

He guessed, "Copying?"

"Copying?"

Studying her thoughtfully, he suggested, "Absorbing?"

"Absorbing?"

Fascinated, the Doctor rattled off, "The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748…"

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748…"

"…3341. Wow!" The Doctor was unwillingly impressed.

"…3341. Wow!"

The other passengers looked at each other in stunned disbelief.

Professor Hobbes stated, "But that's impossible."

"But that's impossible."

Dee Dee said, "She couldn't repeat all that."

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Tell her to stop!" Val was completely unhinged by the proceedings.

"Tell her to stop!"

"She's driving me mad," Val's voice raised with each exclamation.

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her stop!" pleaded Val, tearfully.

"Just make her stop!"

A babble of voices started, as they all began to talk at once, but Sky continued to repeat every work, copying inflection and tone.

Val cried, "…stop her staring at me, shut her up…"

"…stop her staring at me, shut her up…"

The Hostess, "…a trick…"

"…a trick…"

Dee Dee marvelled, "… that's impossible…"

"… that's impossible…"

Biff threatened, "…I'm telling you, whatever your name is…"

"…I'm telling you, whatever your name is…"

Trying to calm them, the Doctor murmured, "Now, just stop it, all of…"

"Now, just stop it, all of…"

Professor Hobbes was disturbed by her lack of blinking, asking, "… her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

"… her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

Jethro, "…copy anything…"

"…copy anything…"

Val shrieked, "…Biff don't just stand there, do something, make her stop…"

"…Biff don't just stand there, do something, make her stop…"

Biff blustered, "… you're scaring my wife…"

"… you're scaring my wife…"

The Hostess tried again, "…Mrs Silvestry…"

"…Mrs Silvestry…"

Jethro yelled gleefully, "Six, six, six."

"Six, six, six."

Val moaned, "…make her stop…"

"…make her stop…"

They heard a high-pitched noise, as the lights came back on full and they finally stop shouting.

The Hostess breathed out with relief, saying, "Well then, that's the back-up system."

"Well! That's a bit better," gasped Biff.

Val demanded, "What about the rescue, how long's it going to take?"

Reassured by the lights, the Hostess assumed her professional demeanour, replying, "About 60 minutes, that's all."

Professor Hobbes said, "Then I suggest we all calm down. This panic isn't helping. That poor woman is evidently in a state of…"

Sky finished the sentence along with Professor Hobbes, "…self-induced hysteria, we should leave her alone."

Noticing what was happening, Jethro called, "Doctor…"

"I know," the Doctor acknowledged. Sky was now speaking the exact same words as the Professor at the exact same time.

"Doctor, now step back, I think you should leave her… alone." Professor Hobbes noticed that Sky was speaking in tandem with him, asking, "What's she doing?"

Val (and Sky) started babbling, "How can she do that? She's talking with you… and with me! Oh my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

Jethro (and Sky) answered, "She's repeating… at exactly the same time."

Dee Dee (and Sky) exclaimed, "That's impossible."

"There's not even a delay," noted Professor Hobbes (and Sky).

Jethro (and Sky) breathed, "Ohh man, that is weird."

"I think you should all be very, very quiet, have you got that?" the Doctor (and Sky) observed.

"How's she doing it?" Val (and Sky) asked, querulously.

"Mrs Kane, please, be quiet," the Doctor (and Sky) pleaded.

Val (and Sky) wittered, "But how can she do that? She's got my voice, she's got my words!"

Holding his wife, Biff (and Sky) soothed, "Sweetheart, be quiet, just… hush now. Hush… She's doing it to me!"

Desperately, the Doctor (and Sky) asked, "Just stop it, all of you. Stop it. Please." He crouched down to look into Sky's eyes. "Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry?" He paused. "You know exactly what I'm going to say, how are you doing that?" Pausing again, he (and Sky) suddenly prattled out, "Roast beef! Bananas! The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS! Shamble, bobble, dibble, dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M , N, O…"

He stopped, his tongue touching his front teeth, smiling strangely. Standing up, he backed away from her, never breaking eye contact. Thoughtfully, he (and Sky) muttered, "First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?"

Dee Dee (and Sky) asked, "Next stage of what?"

Jethro (and Sky) stated, "But that's not her, is it? That's not Mrs Silvestry any more."

The Doctor (and Sky) replied, "I don't think so, no. I think…" He paused, when Val started weeping as she and Biff huddled closer together, "…the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case… maybe not. Let's just… move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back, all of you, as far as you can."

Spreading his arms, he herded them into the galley, Val turned to the Doctor and – with Sky – whined, "Doctor, make her stop."

Looking at the distraught woman, the Doctor (and Sky) urged, "Val, come on, come to the back, stop looking at her, come on, Jethro, you too. Everyone, come on. 50 minutes. That's all we need. 50 minutes 'til the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong, look at her, all she's got is our voices."

Val shuddered, whispering, "I can't look at her. It's those eyes." Sky whispered along with her.

In hushed voices, Dee Dee (and Sky) intoned, "We must not look at goblin men."

Everyone turned to look at her with varying expressions of confusion.

Biff (and Sky) spat, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a poem, Christina Rossetti," explained the Doctor (and Sky), shortly.

Dee Dee (and Sky) recited, "We must not look at goblin men. We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed. Their hungry, thirsty roots?"

Donna came to in time to hear the creepy little poem being chanted by two voices. Groaning, she held her aching head in her hands. It felt like it was going to explode at any moment and her nausea was back tenfold. Knowing she wouldn't be any help to the Doctor, knowing she was more likely to be a distraction, she decided to stay quiet and let him get on with… whatever was going on. Leaning on the wall, she tried to suppress the illness and pain, as she listened to those outside and tried to catch up.

The Doctor (and Sky) told Dee Dee, "Actually, I don't think that's helping."

"She's not a goblin, or a monster, she's just a very sick woman," said the Professor (and Sky), trying to bring them back to reality.

"Maybe that's why it went for her," hypothesised Jethro (and Sky).

"There is no 'it'!" objected Professor Hobbes (and Sky), forcefully.

"Think about it though. That knocking, it went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared, out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in," explained Jethro (and Sky), sounding fascinated.

Exasperated, Professor Hobbes (and Sky) shouted, "For the last time! Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight!"

The Doctor (and Sky) said, "Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, hmm? Now trust me, I've got previous! I think there might well be some… consciousness inside Mrs Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

Biff (and Sky) stated, "Well, you can help her, I'm not going near."

Val looked at the Doctor, as he (and Sky) quickly said, "No. I've got to stay back. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a lot worse."

Val (and Sky) snapped dismissively, "Oh, like you're so special."

The Doctor (and Sky) stated firmly, "As it happens, yes I am. So that's decided. We stay back and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital."

The Hostess struggled for a moment, before she (and Sky) whispered harshly, "We should throw her out!"

Professor Hobbes (and Sky) uttered incredulously, "I beg your pardon?"

"Can we do that?" piped up Val (and Sky), hopefully.

"Don't be ridiculous," answered the Doctor (and Sky), not liking where this was going.

"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet," continued the Hostess (and Sky).

The Doctor pointed at her and said (with Sky), "She can't even move."

The Hostess (and Sky) urged, "Look at her, look at her eyes! She killed Joe and she killed Claude, and we're next."

"She's still doing it." Biff walked back to Sky. "Just stop it! Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't, sweetheart," pleaded Val (and Sky).

"But she won't stop!" Biff walked back to the group. "We can't throw her out though, we can't even open the doors."

"No-one is getting thrown out!" growled the Doctor (and Sky) commandingly, staring down Biff who moved away without acknowledging the Doctor's point.

Dee Dee (and Sky) suddenly spoke up, "Yes, we can. 'Cos there's an air pressure seal." She turned to the Hostess, continuing, "Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out, you had a couple of seconds, 'cos it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

Thoroughly unimpressed with the sharing of this knowledge, the Doctor (and Sky) sarcastically commented, "Thanks, Dee Dee, just what we needed."

He turned to Val as she (and Sky) asked, "Would it kill her. Outside?"

"I don't know, but she's got a body now, it would certainly kill the physical form," answered Dee Dee (and Sky).

"No-one is killing anyone!" exclaimed the Doctor (and Sky) forcefully, leaning towards the others as he braced himself on the doorframe.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one," said the Hostess (and Sky), pointing to the fire exit behind where they were all standing. "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Now, listen, all of you. For all we know, that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, then what's it found? This little bunch of Humans, what do you amount to? Murder? 'Cos this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that? The Doctor was desperately trying to stop the passengers from becoming a lynch mob. He wished Donna was there to add to his voice of reason. Or even to slap some reason into them. Where was she?

For a few seconds, they all looked at each other as they weighed their own consciences.

The Hostess decided and said (with Sky), "I'd do it."

Biff (and Sky) promptly agreed, "So would I."

With almost no pause, Val (and Sky) added, "And me."

"I think we should," Dee Dee (and Sky) concurred.

Alarmed, the Doctor's eyes swung to each one before resting on Dee Dee. "What?"

Dee Dee returned his gaze defiantly, saying (with Sky), "I want her out."

The Doctor (and Sky) snapped, "You can't say that!"

Frowning, Dee Dee (and Sky) argued, "I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor, she is growing in strength."

"That's not what I said!" refuted the Doctor (and Sky).

Her voice breaking, Dee Dee (and Sky) moaned brokenly, "I want to go home. I'm sorry. I want to be safe."

"You'll be safe, any minute now, the rescue truck is on its way," he (and Sky) said, trying to reassure her.

His head snapped to look at the Hostess, as she (and Sky) said, "But what happens then, Doctor? If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace. If that thing reaches civilisation, what if it spreads?"

"No, when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it."

Val (and Sky) snarled, "You haven't done much so far!"

"You're just standing in the back with the rest of us!" Pointed out Biff (and Sky).

The Hostess (and Sky) justified, "She's dangerous. It's my job to see this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her."

"Now hang on, I think, perhaps we're all going a little bit too far," interjected Professor Hobbes (and Sky).

Much relieved to have some support, the Doctor lunged forward to slap the Professor on the arm, "At last! Thank you."

The Hostess (and Sky) shouted, as she stamped her foot, "Two people are dead!"

Angrily, the Doctor (and Sky) responded with, "Don't make it a third!" Turning to the teenager hoping for his support, the Doctor (and Sky) asked, "Jethro, what do you say?"

Jethro (and Sky) immediately said, "I'm not killing anyone."

"Thank you," said the Doctor, relief flooding through him at having another person in his corner.

Val (and Sky) said dismissively, "He's just a boy!"

Nettled, Jethro (and Sky) retorted, "What? So I don't get a vote?"

Despairingly, the Doctor (and Sky) yelled, "There isn't a vote. It's not happening! EVER! If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first!"

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

In her prison, Donna struggled to stand up. She'd heard enough to know that her friend had just talked himself into a very dangerous corner. She managed to get up and stood swaying in front of the door. Trying the handle out of habit, she found it was now open. Swallowing the bile that rose in her throat, she braced herself to defend the Time Lord. Her stomach suddenly heaved and she turned to the bowl to vomit the little that was left in her stomach. Her vision blurred and darkened at the edges. Fighting to stay conscious, she braced herself with a hand on either wall to the side of her.

Everyone was standing very quiet after the Doctor's ultimatum. Then the Hostess (and Sky) said quietly, "Okay."

"Fine by me, "growled Biff, his hackles up and ready for a fight.

Rolling his head back in frustration, the Doctor (and Sky) said, "Ohh, now you're being stupid. Just think about it! Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?" He moved forward 'til he was nose to nose with Biff.

"Calling me a coward?" challenged Biff (and Sky).

"Who put you in charge, anyway?" demanded Val (and Sky), venomously.

"I'm sorry, but… you're a Doctor of what, exactly?" Professor Hobbes (and Sky) asked suddenly.

Stepping into the fray, the Hostess (and Sky) said, "He wasn't even booked in. Rest of you, tickets in advance. He just turned up out of the blue."

Val (and Sky) asked, "Where from?"

Finally sensing that he was on very treacherous ground, the Doctor (and Sky) stammered, as he backed away from what was turning into an ugly mob, "I'm just… travelling. I'm a traveller, that's all."

"Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone, who was that?" queried the Hostess (and Sky).

"Just Donna, just my friend. You've seen her. I don't know where she is now," answered the Doctor (and Sky), looking around him helplessly.

Biff (and Sky) demanded, "And what were you saying to her?"

"He hasn't even told us his name," said Val (and Sky) suspiciously.

"Thing is, Doctor, you've been loving this." Jethro (and Sky) hesitated before emphasising the Doctor's name.

Dismayed, the Doctor (and Sky) lamented, "Oh, Jethro, not you."

Hurrying on, Jethro (and Sky) stated, "No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it."

Thoughtfully, Professor Hobbes agreed, "It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain… glee."

Trying to appease them with a small concession, the Doctor (and Sky) admitted, "All right, I'm interested, yes. I can't help it, 'cos whatever's inside her, it's brand new and that's fascinating."

"What? You wanted this to happen?" accused Val (and Sky).

Rolling his head again in frustration at how dense these Humans were being, the Doctor (and Sky) declaimed, "NO!"

Biff (and Sky) started talking over him, "And you were talking to her, all on your own, before all the trouble. Right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman. The two of you together. I saw you."

Backing up her husband, Val (and Sky) accused, "We all did!"

"And you went into the cabin!" The Hostess (and Sky) added her own accusation.

"What were you saying to her?" demanded Biff (and Sky).

"I was just talking!" Pricklings of fear were working their way up the Doctor's back. He'd give anything to have gone sunbathing with Donna instead of this nightmare. Where was she?

"Saying what?" Biff was in full fight mode now, puffed up with his own importance.

Jethro (and Sky) pointed out heatedly, caught up in the tense atmosphere, "You called us Humans. Like you're not one of us!"

His mother cried shrilly, "He did! That's what he said!"

"And the wiring. He went into that panel and opened up the wiring," observed Dee Dee, pointing towards the panel to illustrate.

"That was after!" protested the Doctor (and Sky), indignantly.

"But how did you know what to do?" demanded Biff (and Sky).

"Because I'm clever!" stated the Doctor (and Sky), thereby proving that maybe he wasn't that clever.

A ringing silence fell after his arrogant, if truthful, assertion. They all stepped back. Donna groaned at the thickness of her friend, and hauled herself upright again, having sunk to the floor. She had to go out there and now.

Professor Hobbes made a noise of disbelief, before he (and Sky) said, "I see. Well. That makes things clear."

"And what are we, then? Idiots?" asked Biff (and Sky) angrily.

Realising his mistake and wishing he could suck the words from the atmosphere and back into his mouth, the Doctor (and Sky) demurred, "That's not what I meant."

Clearly affronted, Dee Dee (and Sky) asked, "If you're clever, then what are we?"

Val (and Sky) spat, "You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in."

The Hostess (and Sky) said, "Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered."

Biff turned to look at the Hostess.

Desperate, the Doctor (and Sky) exclaimed, "Oh come on, just listen to yourself, please?"

"What d'you mean?" Biff looked at the others. "We throw him out as well?"

The Doctor gasped and stared at Biff in shock. Donna was frantically trying to open the door again, having shut it by accident when she'd sunk to the floor earlier. Muttering angrily, she vowed to ask the Doctor for her own sonic if they made it out of this alive. She cursed the designers of the shuttle, wondering why sound from the outside could be heard inside the loo, but sound from the inside couldn't be heard on the outside. There wasn't even an alarm call! And what was with this stupid lock! She growled in frustration and started to slam into the door with her shoulder in the hope of rocking the door open. Her injuries were forgotten as her fear for the Doctor flooded her body with adrenalin.

The Hostess looked calmly at the Doctor before she (and Sky) said simply, "If we have to."

Icy, cold dread poured over the Doctor at the Hostess' words. Backing into the cabin, he held his hands up in a gesture of submission. "Look, just… right, sorry, yes, hold on, just… I know, you're scared and so am I, look at me, I am. But we have all got to calm down and cool off and think."

Professor Hobbes (and Sky) suggested, "Perhaps you could tell us your name."

"What does it matter?" The Doctor (and Sky) asked despairingly.

"Then tell us," demanded the Hostess (and Sky).

"John Smith."

Val made a dismissive sound as the fake name fell from his lips.

"Your real name," growled the Professor (and Sky).

"He's lying, look at his face," said Biff (and Sky), determined to prove that he was right.

"His eyes are the same as hers," put in Val (and Sky).

Slightly terrified, the Doctor's eyes had indeed become quite round and he wasn't game to blink in case one of them made a move. He suddenly hoped that Donna would stay hidden, in case these stupid Humans turned on her too.

They all started talking at once again.

Jethro (and Sky), "Why won't you tell us?"

Val (and Sky) shouted, "He's been lying to us, right from the start!"

Biff (and Sky) yelled, "No-one's called John Smith! Come off it!"

Dee Dee (and Sky) pointed out, "It's a simple enough question."

Professor Hobbes (and Sky) ground out, "Just. Tell. Us!"

Trying to keep his eyes on all of them, the Doctor's head swivelled around as they all continued to pepper him with questions and accusations. "Now, listen to me. Listen to me, right now! Because you need me, all of you. If we're going to get out of this, then you need me."

Professor Hobbes exclaimed, "So you keep saying! You've been repeating yourself more than her."

"If anyone's in charge, it should be the Professor, he's the expert!" declared Val.

"Mum, stop, just look…" Jethro's attention had been drawn back to Sky.

Val snarled impatiently, "You keep out of this, Jethro."

Insistently, he repeated, "Look at her!"

Dee Dee noted, "She's stopped."

All of them stopped to stare at Sky, sitting motionless on the floor, crouched like a wild creature.

Thankful for the distraction, the Doctor (and Sky) asked, "When did she…? No, she hasn't, she's still doing it."

Val said, "She looks the same to me… No, she's stopped! Look, I'm talking, and she's not!"

"What about me, is she…? Look! Look at that! She's not doing me, she's let me go!" said Biff, relieved.

Hesitantly, the Hostess ventured, "Mrs Silvestry?... Nor me! Nothing!"

"Sky? What are you doing?" The Doctor had moved closer to her, curious as to why she'd stopped mimicking the others and apprehensive as to why she continued to mimic him.

Dee Dee called, "She's still doing him!"

"Doctor, it's you. She's only copying you," pointed out the Professor superfluously.

"Why me? Why are you doing this?" The Doctor (and Sky) demanded, knowing that it would only seal his fate.

Val clutched Biff's arm. "She won't leave him alone! D'you see? I said so, she's with him."

Looking down at her, Biff agreed, "They're together!"

Clearly panicking, Professor Hobbes asked, "How do you explain it, Doctor? If you're so clever."

Hopelessly, the Doctor (and Sky) admitted, "I don't know. Sky, stop it. I said stop it. Just stop it!" He walked closer to Sky.

Val said, "Look at the two of them!"

The Doctor crouched down to look Sky in the eyes, saying (and Sky), "Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech, what for? What do you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? 'Cos I'm the only one who can help? Ohh, I'd love that to be true. But your eyes. They're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if its life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So. What do you think?"

Sky's voice suddenly spoke first, with the Doctor's a few seconds behind. "Do we have a deal?"

Shocked silence filled the cabin and Donna redoubled her efforts at breaking down the door.

Dee Dee murmured, moving forward with her finger pointed at them. "Hold on, did she…?"

Jethro confirmed, "She spoke first."

"She can't have," said Val, disbelievingly.

"She did!" exclaimed the Professor.

"She spoke first!" reiterated Jethro, stunned.

The Doctor had lost all control of his voice and body, frozen in a crouch as he stared at the creature who had taken control of him. Terrified, he screamed in frustration but no sound left his lips.

Then Sky moved her head and slowly announced, "Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you."

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you," repeated the Doctor helplessly, a fine tremor shaking his body.

Moving further into the cabin, the Professor declared, "Did you see? She spoke before he did! Definitely!"

"He's copying her," observed Jethro from the doorway, watching them intently.

"Doctor, what's happening?" queried the Professor.

The trembling of his body increased as the Doctor frantically tried to regain control of his body.

Sky replied slowly, "I think it's moved."

"I think it's moved," repeated the Doctor, eyes still fixed on the creature.

"I think it's letting me go," said Sky.

"I think it's letting me go," mimicked the Doctor.

Dee Dee asked, "What do you mean? Letting you go from what?"

"But he's repeating now, he's the one doing it! It's him!" declared Biff.

"They're separating," theorised Jethro.

"Mrs Silvestry? Is that you?" questioned the Professor.

"Yes, yes, it's me," replied Sky, more and more expression creeping into her features.

"Yes, yes, it's me," The Doctor howled on the inside, but was powerless to do anything more than parrot the creature.

"I'm coming back, listen," cried Sky.

"I'm coming back…"

"It's me!" Sky slowly started to move her head and hands.

"…listen. It's me!" The Doctor remained motionless, only his mouth moving as he was forced to repeat her words.

Jethro muttered, "Like it's passed into the Doctor. It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside him."

"No, that's not what happened," denied Dee Dee, puzzled and looking closely at the scene in front of her.

"But look at her!" exclaimed Val, shocked.

Sky moved her hands, wriggling her fingers, saying, "Look at me, I can move…"

"Look at me…"

"I can fell again…" Sky's face was rapturous.

"I can move… I can feel again…"

I'm coming back to life…" Sky was becoming more and more animated as the others watched.

"I'm coming back to life…"

"And look at him, he can't move," crowed Sky.

"And look at him, he can't move."

Sky looked up at the Professor, as the Doctor's eyes followed her movement. He felt the creature controlling his actions, but he was powerless to stop it. Trapped inside his own mind, he sobbed for Donna.

"Help me," Sky pleaded, softly.

"Help me."

"Professor?" added Sky.

Professor Hobbes' mouth fell open and he turned to his fellow passengers.

"Professor?" repeated the Doctor.

Holding her hands up to the Professor, Sky begged, "Get me away from him."

"Get me away from him."

Sky added, "Please."

"Please."

Cautiously skirting around the Doctor, the Professor moved toward Sky and took her hands. Once she was on her feet, he led her to the others near the galley, leaving the Doctor motionless on the floor. Inside, he screamed Donna's name over and over again. Why couldn't she hear him!

Donna heard the lock crack a little as she sobbed in frustration. She had to get out of this damn toilet. Her Spaceman was going to be in a world of pain, if she couldn't. Frantically, she continued to throw her weight against the door. When she got out of here, she vowed to slap each and every one of the cretins who were currently plotting to throw her friend out of the shuttle. Nobody hurt that skinny, streak of alien nothing but her.

"Ohh, thank you," sighed Sky.

"Ohh, thank you."

"They've completely separated," said Jethro.

"It's in him. D'you see? I said it was him all the time," preened Biff. Donna snorted and made another mark against his name on her slap list.

"She's free! She's been saved!" exclaimed Val, like some sort of evangelican follower.

Sky, or rather the creature in her, started to work their sympathy, "Oh, it was so cold."

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe," she continued.

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry," she apologised, as she stood in the middle of the other passengers.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor's eyes glistened with tears, as he continued to repeat her words involuntarily.

"I must've scared you so much." The Sky creature's voice and face took on more and more warmth and expression, winning over the other passengers.

"I must've scared you so much."

Val rushed forward to hug her, crying, "No, no, it's all right. I've got you, ohh, there you are, my love. It's gone. Everything's all right now."

The Sky creature returned the embrace, revelling in the sensation of feeling again.

Dee Dee cautioned, "I wouldn't touch her."

"But it's gone, she's clean, it passed into him," stated Biff, as Val let go and they all turned to Dee Dee.

"That's not what happened," Dee Dee stated vehemently.

"Thank you for your opinion, Dee, but clearly Mrs Silvestry has been released," said the Professor with a huge amount of relief.

Donna thumped against the door again, muttering, "Bloody pompous git, that's another smack for you."

Shaking her head dubiously, Dee Dee said, "No…"

Val cried, "Just leave her alone! She's safe, isn't she? Jethro? It's let her go, hasn't it?"

"Think so, yeah. Looks like it, Professor?" Trying to look confident in the face of his mother's query, Jethro turned to the older man for confirmation.

"I'd say, from observation… the Doctor can't move, and when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so…" returned the Professor in his lecture voice.

Donna was panting as she was forced to rest for a moment. Smacking the door, she shouted, "That doesn't mean anything, you stupid …" Saving her breath, she restarted her assault on the surprisingly sturdy door. She was really beginning to hate the engineer who designed this shuttle.

"Well, there we are then! Now the only problem we've got is this Doctor." It was all the confirmation that Biff needed and he was riled up, ready to chuck the annoyingly smug man out.

Donna growled.

"It's inside his head," Sky said softly.

The Doctor echoed, "It's inside his head."

"It killed the driver," the creature inside sky reminded them all, hoping to spur them into action.

Forced to repeat, the Doctor cried, "It killed the driver."

Gleefully, the creature pressed on, "And the mechanic."

"And the mechanic." It wasn't me, screamed the Doctor despairingly, even as he forced to say otherwise.

"And now it wants us."

"And now it wants us." The Doctor's muscles were strained to their limits, with his struggles against the paralysis that gripped him.

Smugly, Val shouted, "I said so!"

Donna thought her mother had finally met her match, when it came to the most irritating woman stakes.

Confident in its ability to manipulate the Humans it found itself amongst, the creature started to cry out, always echoed by the helpless Doctor.

"He's waited so long."

"He's waited so long."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"And the diamonds."

"And the diamonds."

"Until you came."

"Until you came."

"Bodies are so hot."

"Bodies are so hot."

"With blood."

"With blood."

"And pain."

"And pain."

Thoroughly panicked by the otherworldly quality of Sky's ravings, Val shrieked, "Stop, oh my God, make him stop. Someone make him stop!"

Donna and Dee Dee both protested, "But she's saying it!"

Rounding on Dee Dee, Val said viciously, "And you can shut up!"

"But it's not him, it's her, he's just repeating!" Dee Dee tried to make Val see sense, but realised she was fighting a losing battle.

Aggressively, Biff objected, "But that's what the thing does, it repeats!"

The Hostess was catching on and urged the panicked passengers to listen to the quiet, young woman, who seemed to be the only one trying to be reasonable. "Just let her talk!"

Breathlessly, Donna muttered, "Finally. Better late than never. Idiots."

"What do you know? Fat lot of good you've been!" Biff was past the point of return.

"Just let her explain," the Hostess was regretting her earlier actions and was pleading with the others.

"I think… I mean, from what I've seen… it repeats, then it synchronises, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen!" Dee Dee explained earnestly.

"What, and you're on his side?" challenged Biff antagonistically.

"No!" Dee Dee protested, not willing to commit that much to the strange Doctor.

The few brownie points the girl had gained with Donna were rapidly being lost.

Jethro cried, "The voice is the thing!"

A light went on for Dee Dee and she said, "And she's the voice! She stole it! Look at her! It's not possessing him, it's draining him!"

"Give the girl a cigar," panted Donna, sitting on the toilet and holding her aching head as she gathered her waning strength for another attack.

"She's got his voice…" agreed the Hostess, the truth dawning on her too.

Unwilling to admit she was wrong, Val argued, "But that's not true, 'cos it can't. Because I saw it pass into him. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Backing his wife up, Biff declared, "So did I!"

"You didn't," corrected Dee Dee.

Turning to her son, Val demanded, "It went from her, to him. You saw it, didn't you?"

"I don't know," Jethro replied, unsure of himself.

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro. Of course you did!" spat Val, vitriolic ally.

Confused, Jethro agreed with his mother, "I suppose… he was right next to her."

Driving the point home, Biff yelled, "Everyone saw it, everyone!"

Slightly desperate, Dee Dee shouted, "You don't you're just making it up! I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing her voice."

"She's as bad as him, someone shut her up!" cried Val.

Trying to protect her, Professor Hobbes warned, "I think you should be quiet, Dee."

"Well, I'm only saying…" started Dee Dee, before being cut off.

"And that's an order! You're making a fool of yourself! Pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average, at best! Now shut up!" barked the Professor.

During the row, no-one noticed the self satisfied smile on the Sky creature's face. It continued to use Sky's voice to urge the panicked people into throwing the Doctor from the shuttle. All the while, the Doctor was forced to echo the pernicious entity helplessly.

"That's how he does it," sighed the Sky creature insidiously.

"That's how he does it."

"He makes you fight."

"He makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"That's him."

"That's him."

"Inside."

"Inside."

Panicking further, Biff roared, "Throw him out!"

"Get him out of my head!" shrieked Val.

"Yeah, we should throw him out!" repeated Biff.

"Well, don't just talk about it! Just, you're useless! Do something!" screeched Val to her husband.

Spurred on, Biff announced, "I will! You watch me! I'm gonna throw him out!"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor remained motionless on the outside, but continued to struggle on the inside. His eyes were wide and luminous, clearly showing his terror and pain. The creature had stolen his voice, his words, the only true weapons he had to protect himself. For the first time, he feared for his life, knowing that he wouldn't regenerate if thrown outside. His body would vaporise in the Xtonic sunlight, his atoms dispersing across the planets surface. Why hadn't Donna appeared? Had the creature done something to her? His hearts clenched at the thought that Donna was trapped inside her body somewhere like he was, and his breath hitched.

"Yes!" the sky creature exulted.

"Yes!"

"Throw him out!"

"Throw him out!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Now!"

"Now!"

Biff grabbed the Doctor and started to drag him towards the door.

Distressed, Dee Dee cried, "Don't!"

"It'll be you next!" snarled Val, warningly.

"Don't think we should do this!" said the Hostess.

"It was your idea! Professor, help me," said Biff, having none of the Hostess' backpedalling.

"I can't…I-I'm not…" stammered Professor Hobbes, not caring to be drawn into the physical actuality of killing the Doctor.

"What sort of man are you? Come on!" sneered Biff, in disdain.

Val screamed, "Throw him out!"

"Come on!" urged Biff, grunting with the effort of manhandling the Doctor's dead weight.

"Just do it, throw him out!" cried Val, like one of Satan's cheerleaders.

"Help! Professor, help me!" implored Biff.

"Get him out!" called Val again.

"Grab hold of him!" ordered Biff.

Awkwardly, the Professor grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"Not like that! Are you stupid?" barked Biff.

Hello Pot, this is the Kettle, thought Donna as she threw herself at the door again. She could feel it starting to give which inspired her to find her third wind, the second was long gone.

The Sky creature called deliriously, "Caste him out!"

"Caste him out!"

"Into the sun!"

"Into the sun!"

"I want him out!" declared Val, unnerved by the sing-song quality of Sky's voice.

"And the night!" continued the Sky creature.

"And the night!"

"Get him out!" screeched Val.

"Do it!" called the Sky creature.

"Do it!"

"Do it now!"

"Do it now!"

"Faster!"

"Faster!"

Val screamed again, gripped by her hysteria, "Just do it!"

"That's the way!" encouraged the Sky creature.

"That's the way!"

Jethro joined his father and the Professor, the three of them pulling the Doctor's prone form towards the door.

A sudden crash from the rear of the shuttle went unnoticed as Donna finally succeeded in breaking down the door. Picking herself up, she ran into the cabin, screaming, "STOP! STOP IT! RIGHT NOW! Put him down and step away from him, or so help me God, each and every one of you will get chucked out after him!" Seeing the men were still holding the Doctor, albeit frozen by her sudden appearance and palpable fury, she moved toward them growling ominously. She pushed Val into a wall forcibly, making the woman cry out in shock and pain, as she hit her head hard.

Although physically unmoved by the arrival of Donna, inside the Doctor was sobbing with relief. He wasn't alone anymore. His friend was there and, if anyone could stop these madmen from throwing him out, it was her.

"You can do it!" cried out the Sky creature, ignoring Donna's presence.

"You can do it!" repeated the Doctor hollowly.

"Molto bene!" said the Sky creature, making Donna look at her sharply and open her mouth.

"Throw them out!" Val screamed hysterically, drowning out what Donna had been about to say as she turned again to the idiots holding onto her friend.

"Molto bene!" copied the Doctor.

Donna had reached the men, slapping first Jethro, then the Professor and finally punching Biff as hard as she could. Each of them released their hold on the Time Lord and he fell to the ground, inert and still possessed by the creature. Donna stood over him protectively, watching as Jethro and the Professor backed away from her. Biff stayed on the ground, nursing his jaw and eyeing the enraged redhead warily.

Val glared at her husband and screamed at him, "Get him out!"

"Allons-y!" called the Sky creature, in agreement with Val.

"Allons-y!" The Doctor resented the creature using his favourite words to egg the Humans into perpetrating his own death.

"That's his voice," called the Hostess to the others as realisation hit home.

"NO! You think? How thick are you people?" Donna held her head to the side, her hands on her hips as she mocked those around her, whilst standing guard over the stricken Time Lord.

Unaware that the tide had turned in the Doctor's favour, the Sky creature called, "The starlight waits!"

"She's taken his voice!" reiterated the Hostess.

"The starlight waits," echoed the Doctor dully.

"The emptiness!" continued the Sky creature.

"The emptiness!"

Unwilling to accept reason, Val continued to shriek at her husband and son, "Get him out!"

"The Midnight sky!" called the Sky creature.

"The Midnight sky!"

Her tone certain, the Hostess stated, "It's her. She's taken his voice!"

The Hostess grabbed Sky, holding her against her own body, and pushed the button to open the fire exit. Blinding light flooded into the shuttle, making everyone stop and scream.

The Hostess stood in the doorway, holding sky firmly and counted, "One, two, three, four, five, six."

The pressure wall collapsed, releasing the Hostess and Sky into the atmosphere, before the door slid closed.

The Doctor's body relaxed and he gasped, before starting to chant, "It's gone, it's gone… It's gone, it's gone, it's gone… It's gone, It's gone… It's gone, it's gone, it's gone… It's gone. It's gone. It's gone."

Donna looked at him and decided that he needed her to hold onto him, more than he needed her to slap the other passengers, although she was definitely going to slap Val at some point. Sitting next to the Doctor, she drew him up and held him to her, smoothing his hair and shushing him as he panted. It took a few moments but, when he realised that he was not only being held but held by someone he loved and trusted, he threw his arms around her tightly. Turning his face into her neck, he started to shake violently as reaction set in, clutching her to him desperately. His hearts were beating wildly, she could fell their frantic tattoo under her hand. Donna kissed him gently, murmuring, "it's okay, sweetheart, I've got you. They can't hurt you anymore. I'm here. You're alright. Shhh."

The others stood around, breathing heavily, the realisation that they'd almost thrown an innocent man to his death setting in. Watching Donna soothe and comfort her clearly traumatised friend, they realised that the Doctor looked nothing but Human.

Val looked around before saying weakly, "I said it was her."

Glaring at her with enough fury to cause Val to step back, Donna snarled, "SHUT. UP! If you so much as utter one more syllable I will get up off this floor and slap you senseless. You stupid, annoying, idiotic bint!" The Doctor whimpered and burrowed further into her at the thought of her letting him go. She hushed him and rubbed circles on his back, still glaring angrily at Val.

Val shrank back, sobbing, deserted by her husband and son as everyone dealt with their guilt alone.

Twenty minutes later, Donna was still sitting on the floor with the Doctor in her lap. She'd tried to rock him, but the motion sent waves of dizziness and sickness through her. Instead, she held him close and crooned old songs softly, trying to calm him down. Eventually, his shaking had subsided to a constant tremor, but he continued to cling to her. She raked her fingers through his soft, silky hair and dropped light kisses on his head. He moulded himself to her, trying to press as much of his body to hers as he could, in an effort to convince himself that he was no longer alone. A couple of hot tears had run down his face, but he didn't want to attract any attention to himself by crying loudly. Also, he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to stop, once he started to cry.

The other passengers had all settled into seats, each sitting alone and silent, lost in their own thoughts.

Everyone jumped collectively, as a voice called from the tannoy system: "Repeat, Crusader 50, rescue vehicle coming alongside in three minutes, door seals set to automatic. Prepare for boarding, repeat, prepare for boarding."

Stirring slightly, turning his head so he could see the others, the Doctor croaked, "The Hostess… what was her name?"

The other passengers looked away in shame.

Professor Hobbes managed to reply, "I don't know."

The rescue vehicle locked onto the shuttle and the side door slid open. Everyone looked at it apprehensively, except the Doctor who huddled further into Donna, every muscle tightening. She gathered him more firmly into her arms, stroking her hand up and down his back soothingly.

Donna tried to distract him, asking, "What do you think it was?"

He shook his head, muttering, "No idea."

Thinking aloud, she said, "Do you think it's still out there?"

The Doctor couldn't answer her, as his throat constricted painfully in terror at the thought of the creature coming back.

Patting him reassuringly, she said, "Well, you'd better tell 'em. This lot."

Nodding against her shoulder, he replied tiredly, "Yeah. They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning round an Xtonic star. In silence."

"Can't imagine you, without a voice," she teased, laying her cheek on the top of his head.

He managed a weak smile as he murmured, "Molto bene."

Without thinking, she agreed, "Molto bene!"

He stiffened before saying despairingly, "No, don't do that. Don't. Don't…"

"Oh Spaceman, I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. Shhh…" She leaned back and put her hands on either side of his face, noting his tear filled eyes, and smiled reassuringly. Leaning her forehead to his, she suggested, "Come on, time to get on the rescue vehicle and go back to the TARDIS. It will feel better once you're back on the old girl, huh?" She pulled back and thumbed away the tears that spilled as he nodded, breath hitching.

They were distracted by the arrival of a medic through the side door, who squatted next to them and asked, "Are you folks okay? Need any assistance? You seem to have a contusion there, Miss." He reached to touch the lump on Donna's forehead, causing her to hiss and move her head away sharply. "Are you dizzy? Any blurring to your vision, or nausea?"

"Yes, to all of the above, Sunshine. Give us a hand up so we can get off this damned shuttle, huh?"

"Donna?" The Doctor reached a trembling hand towards her face, concerned for her now that the medic had pointed out her injury. "Are you all right? What happened?"

Capturing his hand, she smiled and said, "I'm fine. I whacked my head and ribs when the shuttle rocked around, but I'll live. Come on, now. The sooner we get on the rescue vehicle, the sooner we get back to the TARDIS." Rising shakily, with the help of the medic, she reached down to help the Time Lord up. He was just as unsteady on his feet as her, but she took his hand and together, they made their way to the rescue shuttle.

When the Doctor saw the other passengers huddled together, he pulled back on Donna's hand, ducking his head and trying to hide behind her. Seeing his reluctance to sit near the others, Donna led him over to the seats furthest from them and sat down. He hesitated to sit in the seat, moving to sit on the floor. He didn't want to draw the notice of the others by sitting on the seat, as though he were their equal. He sat leaning against Donna's legs, with his knees drawn up to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Doctor? What are you doing down there, sweetheart?" Looking down at him, puzzled, Donna put her hand on his head and stroked his hair.

He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze flitting to the other passengers. Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, he stammered, "Um, I… I… well, I don't really w-want to… I-I'm not… one of them. I shouldn't…" He looked up at her, his eyes pools of hurt and confusion.

Reaching down, she drew him up into the seat next to her, saying, "C'mon now, Spaceman. Sit with me. I can't keep bending over like this, it hurts my ribs."

Unfortunately, the seat put him next to the window which was too close to the planet for his shattered nerves. As the door slid shut and the engines revved in preparation for departure, he began to feel hot and prickly. His breathing got faster, as his heartrate increased and his shaking returned. Donna saw his distress, lifted the armrest that separated them and put her arms around him, guiding his head to her chest.

"Shh, skinny boy, listen to my heart, breathe when I breathe, shhh, we're safe, we'll be in the TARDIS soon, we can have a nice, warm bath each and then some dinner. Then you can come and snuggle up with me in my nice, comfortable bed and I'll sing to you until we fall asleep. How does that sound? Huh?" Whilst she was talking, Donna smoothed her hand over his back and shoulders in circles. She knew he always calmed faster when she drew circles on him. Whether it was rubbing his back, or just lightly tracing circles on his hand with her finger, circles soothed him.

He felt his panic recede somewhat as he closed his eyes and let the smell and sound of Donna wash over him. It soothed him like nothing else had for a long, long time. Her hands were gentle but firm as she rubbed his back and held his head to her chest. So different to the hard, painful grip of the men on the other shuttle. She was a Human like the ones who had tried to kill him, but she was his Human and he trusted her. Melting into her, he kept his eyes closed and concentrated on the sound of her voice as she started singing to him. The slow, languid blues songs she sang the whole trip back soothed not only the Doctor's frazzled nerves, but those of the other passengers. Eventually the Doctor fell into a trance-like state, as he lay protectively nestled in his best mate's arms.

By the time they docked back at the Leisure Palace, Donna's ribs were on fire, her head felt like her brain was three sized too big for her skull and her throat resembled the Sahara, dry and scratchy. But the Doctor had long since calmed, his hearts beating their normal rhythm, his breathing almost a snore and his lanky frame relaxed against her. So, Donna was happy to put up with her discomfort.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the doors opened, the Doctor unfurled from his position against Donna and bolted out into the Leisure Palace. Donna painfully dragged herself up, swaying for a moment.

"Are you alright? Do you need a hand?"

Dragging her arm away from the Professor, Donna snarled, "I don't need any help from a would-be murder!"

The other passengers slinked past Donna, after the humbled Professor, and she watched them go with barely concealed hatred. She'd have stalked out first, but her legs were proving to be a little stubborn.

The medic came forward and looked at her with concern, suggesting, "We have a wheelchair, Miss."

Slumping her shoulders wearily, Donna nodded and murmured, "Might be for the best."

As she was wheeled out into the Leisure Palace, Donna rested her aching head on the hand of the arm she had propped up on the armrest. Snorting humourlessly, she muttered, "Some holiday this turned out to be."

As they turned the corner, Donna could hear raised voices and lifted her head with some difficulty to see the passengers arguing with a man in a suit. The man in the suit, stood in front of a clearly terrified Doctor, who was flanked by a pair of burly guards. All pain forgotten, Donna leapt from the chair, ignoring the medic's protests and ran towards the fray.

Putting her fingers in her mouth, Donna issued a piercing whistle that cut through the babble and rendered everyone speechless. Stalking towards the group, she said slowly with just a touch of menace, "What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On. Here?"

The passengers parted like the Red Sea, in deference to the clearly irate redhead, and she was soon by the Doctor's side. He immediately took her hand in a death grip and bumped up against her side anxiously.

The man in the suit said smoothly, "Ah, you must be the last passenger. Let me start again, now we're all here. Our company has been informed by the rescue shuttle that there have been four fatalities. You can understand that this is a very serious matter that requires investigation. When we asked your fellow passenger for a statement, he tried to run. Then when we asked the rest of your fellow passengers to remain here and give statements, they… protested."

Leaning into the Doctor a little as the world tilted after a foolhardy attempt at a nod, Donna asked, "And who the hell are you, when you're at home?"

Clearly affronted, the man in the suit puffed himself up importantly and replied indignantly, "My name is Samuel Henry Rummery and I'm the Manager of the Leisure Palace."

"Riiiiight," drawled a clearly unimpressed Donna, "Well, Sam, your problem is this… I'm injured. My friend here is traumatised. The others are cowards and/or idiots. None of us are in the mood to talk to you about what happened out there. But what I will say is this, you need to pack up and get the hell out of dodge, 'cos what's out there is bigger than you and the horse you rode in on."

"H-Horse? I'm afraid I don't understand…" stammered Samuel, bewildered by the woman in front of him.

Moving over to poke the manager in the chest, ignoring the guards as they stepped forward to protect him, Donna said clearly, "I have had a VERY trying day. I was poisoned by your cocktails, got locked in the toilet of the shuttle by a defective door lock, had to break down said door – which was ridiculously sturdy for a bog door – because there was no alarm call in the toilet which must be a violation of some sort of health and safety code, then had to save my best friend in the entire universe from being thrown out of the exit door to certain death by a mob of fear-crazed cretins!"

Pausing for breath, wincing as her ribs protested the action, Donna continued, "Considering these factors, I think the least you can do is allow us a couple of hours in our rooms to rest and recuperate before you start grilling us, don't you?"

Blustering, the manager tried not to look as intimidated as he felt, saying, "Well, yes, that seems reasonable, under the circumstances. Shall we reconvene here at 8 o'clock?"

"Yeah, whatever." With that, Donna put her arm around the shivering Time Lord and started to guide him towards their room, where the TARDIS was parked. "C'mon, sweetheart, let's get you somewhere quiet."

By the time they'd reached their suite, they were leaning on each other heavily. Donna had waved the concerned medic away, with a short thank you. She knew that the Doctor could fix her head and ribs in minutes, once they were in the medbay. What worried her was how she was going to fix what was wrong with him.

The TARDIS sensed her pilot's distress and opened her doors to him and his companion. As they walked into the console room, the door shut decidedly behind them. Donna walked over to the console and flipped a few of the toggles before taking the hand brake off to send them into the Vortex.

"Donna, we have to go back and give them our statements," said the Doctor dully, watching without making a move to stop her.

"And we will. Eventually. Until then, we're going to the medbay so you can sort out my head and ribs. Then we're going to take a long, hot soak in a bath – not together obviously, don't get any ideas there Skinny Boy - and then we're going to get some sleep. I might, if you're good, give you a massage too. But first medbay." She'd taken his arm and steered him towards the medbay, arriving just as she finished speaking.

Feeling numb and detached, the Doctor allowed himself to be guided. He automatically treated his companion for the injuries she'd sustained on the shuttle. On a tour that he'd talked her into going on, he realised sadly. His hands started to shake again as he waved the instrument Donna called the flashy, blinky thing over her ribs a final time. Putting it down, he looked at the screen and saw that she had no further injuries.

Noticing how quiet and withdrawn the Doctor was, Donna nibbled on her lower lip worriedly. Once he'd put the flashy, blinky thing down, he just stood there silently, with his hands trembling by his sides. Assuming that he'd finished, since nothing hurt anymore, aside from her dry throat, Donna slid off the bed and took her friend's hand. Without speaking, she led him to her room. Trailing her other hand along the wall of the TARDIS, she asked her silently to provide some pajamas for him.

Walking along beside Donna, the Doctor sighed as they entered her bedroom. He'd come to view this place as a sanctuary, somewhere to run to when the nightmares were too scary. Going with her, he noted that she was taking him to the bathroom, but there was no emotion attached to the observation. He seemed to have lost the ability to feel anything.

Starting the bath, Donna put in some bubble mix before turning to the Doctor and starting to undress him. At this point, the Doctor came back to himself a little, slapping her hands away and snapping, "I can still undress and bathe myself, Donna!"

Raising an eyebrow, Donna retorted, "Right, well, I'll leave you to it then, shall I? Your pj's are on the towel holder." Then she turned on her heel and went out, shutting the door after her.

Standing for a few minutes staring at the door, he waited for her to come back in. When she didn't, he slowly peeled his clothes off before stepping into the bath. It was just the right temperature for him, although he knew it would be too cool for Donna. How did she know these things? Reaching forward to turn the water off, he lay back and sunk down below the suds. Rising to the surface, he lay with the water comfortingly lapping his chin and closed his eyes.

The TARDIS sang to him soothingly, knowing what he'd been through. She could see the tears and scratches in his mind, where the creature had clawed and scrabbled its way in. Caressing his mind, she tried to heal the pain the only way she knew how.

Donna stood outside, with her back to the door, hearing him splashing around before going quiet. The hum of the TARDIS increased and seemed to make the air around her shimmer slightly. Feeling bone deep weariness crash down on her, Donna heaved herself away from the door and went to her bed. Collecting her pajamas, she headed to a new door that had just opened, revealing a second, identical bathroom. Entering it and shutting the door, she rubbed the wall and murmured, "Thanks, old girl. Let me know if he tries to drown."

After a shower, Donna sat on her bed, towelling her hair dry thoughtfully. She knew her Spaceman wouldn't want to go back and give a statement, but felt it was important for the facts to be known. Donna certainly didn't trust those cowards from the shuttle to tell the truth. Getting up, she threw the towel in the laundry chute, and then went to the closed bathroom door. Knocking lightly, she enquired, "You alright in there, Time Boy? Haven't slipped down the drain have you?"

Starting at the sound of her voice, he smiled a little and called, "No, just finishing up. I'll be out soon." He was dismayed to hear that his voice was rough and slightly tremulous.

Going to her desk, Donna sat down and turned on her laptop. Once it had woken up, she opened a Word document and started typing furiously.

Knowing that Donna was more than likely to burst in on him if she became worried that he was taking too long, the Doctor hauled himself out of tub. Pulling the plug, he towelled off and pulled his now warmed pajamas on. Moving over to the sink, he reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste. It was then that he registered that the TARDIS had moved his bathroom next to Donna's bedroom. Rubbing the wall, he cooed, "Who's a clever girl, then?"

Humming in agreement, the TARDIS sent a puff of warm air over her pilot. Then she decided to do a thorough job of it and blasted his hair until it was dry and sticking up in all directions as usual.

Laughing for what felt like the first time in decades, the Doctor sent a mental word of thanks and started brushing his teeth. As he was doing so, his mind replayed the scene when Donna had braced the manager. Grinning with his mouth full of foam, he felt warmth burn through him at her protectiveness. Her injuries had not been insubstantial and it must have cost her a lot to get out of the wheelchair that she'd been slumped in. He remembered the feelings of loneliness, desolation and anxiety he'd had as all those Humans had pressed around him, shouting and shoving. Shuddering, he spat out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth. Suddenly, he needed to be with Donna.

Hearing the door open, Donna continued to type at high speed. She felt as her friend came to stand at her shoulder, as close as he could get without touching her, and asked, "Feel better?"

Nodding, then realising she wouldn't see him; he cleared his throat and said, "A bit. What are you doing?"

"I am typing up my statement. Once you've had a bit of a kip and maybe something to eat, you can dictate yours to me and then we'll land, I'll hand them over to our good buddy Sam, and we'll be off like a bucket of prawns in the sun," she replied cheerfully, typing all the while.

"Oh." A weight shifted from his shoulders as he realised she was making it possible for him to avoid ever seeing the others again. He bent to kiss her on top of her head. "Thanks."

Donna was very nearly done with her factual account of what had happened to her, but she needed to put a few scathing remarks and recommendations at the bottom. However, she could sense that the Doctor wasn't going to just lie down and go to sleep without her attention. So, hastily typing the last few words, she saved it carefully and then stood up, coaxing, "C'mon then, Time Boy, into bed with you."

Allowing himself to be prodded and shoved, the Doctor collapsed into the lovely warm, soft bed, curling up like a kitten as Donna covered him over. Gazing up at her with huge, brown eyes, he asked, "Aren't you going to sleep too?"

Brushing his cheek with the back of two fingers, she asked gently, "Do you want me to come in with you?"

Bashfully, he nodded and blushed painfully. He wasn't used to having his companions in his bed, or being in theirs, but he and Donna seemed to have reached an understanding. When he was upset, sick or frightened, he was allowed to sleep with her. It was still uncomfortable for him to admit that he needed comforting, but it wasn't so hard when it was Donna. He could never have shown such weakness to any of his former companions. Right now, he was still terrified by what had happened and what almost happened to him that day. He'd never had such a close call with his own mortality – never been faced with a death he wouldn't regenerate after – and it had shaken him to the core.

Climbing onto the other side of the bed, Donna lay on her back and sighed, waiting for him to make the first move if he wanted to do so. She didn't have to wait long, before the Doctor rolled over and snuggled into her, clutching a fistful of her pajama top and burying his face in her neck. Turning to him a little, she gathered him into her arms and held him close. Brushing his hair back off his forehead, she kissed him and laid her cheek against his head, murmuring, "There now, Sunshine, it's going to be fine. I've got you."

A tiny voice came floating up, "I'm sorry I forgot about you today, Donna. I was so interested in the new life form, that I for.. forg …" His voice, which had started out so soft that Donna could barely hear it, petered out altogether. He stayed mute, shoulders shaking with the effort of containing his emotions.

Stroking his hair softly, Donna whispered, "Aw, sweetheart, it's okay."

"I th-thought I w-was going to d-die…" he wailed into her hair, clinging to her. He sounded pathetic to his own ears, over 900 years old and crying like a child. But he couldn't help himself, the reaction was too deeply felt to suppress. The emotions of the day boiled to the surface, emerging as hot tears and fierce sobs. He sobbed brokenly until he thought his respiratory bypass may have to kick in, before slowly calming into the occasional sniffle.

The whole time, Donna just held him close.

"Sorry," he muttered, as he pulled away, wiping his face.

Pulling a clean tissue from the box beside her bed, Donna cleaned his face up for him, lobbed the tissue in the direction of the bin and pulled out a few more for him to blow his nose with.

He honked and then lobbed the tissues straight into the bin. Wearily, he cuddled back into Donna.

"There's no need to be sorry, sweetheart. You've just been through a terrifying and incredibly stressful ordeal. I'd be worried if you didn't break down and have a bit of a cry. Besides, that's what mates are for, isn't it?" Donna smoothed her hand over his hair, pausing to thumb away a stray tear from the side of his nose.

He huffed and gave her a tiny smile. Wrapping her in his lanky arms and legs, he pleaded, "Sing to me?"

So Donna sang, as she lay with her emotionally battered friend draped over her, rubbing his tired, aching back muscles and lulling him into much needed sleep. Dozing off herself, she woke each time he became restless, dragging him away from nightmares and singing him back to a calm sleep.

Waking abruptly after six hours sleep, the Doctor first registered the smell of Donna. Then he realised that he was draped over her and his head was cushioned comfortably on her breast, slowly rising and falling with her breathing. Pretty sure that he wouldn't get slapped for having his head there, he decided nonetheless to move to safer territory. Wriggling around, he shifted so the top part of his face was pressed into the side of her neck. Her scent was stronger here and he was tempted to give her a little lick, just to see if she tasted like she smelt. She was asleep, surely it wouldn't hurt. Cautiously, he flicked his tongue out to swipe lightly along her throat. Interesting, he thought, she tastes even better than she smells.

Donna had woken to find her friend's head on her chest. Snorting to herself about how all males were the same, no matter the species, she let sleeping Time Lords lie. When he squirmed around and nuzzled into her neck, she was just about to ask if he was awake. Then she felt him lick her!

"Euw, did you just lick me, Martian?"

Grinning, he didn't move as he replied cagily, "Maybe."

"For the love of God, why?"

Shrugging, he muttered, "Wanted to.."

Sighing in acceptance of his weird alien ways, she squeezed him briefly and then slapped him lightly on the arm, before asking, "Are you hungry?"

At the thought of food, his stomach rumbled loudly, rendering a verbal response unnecessary.

Chuckling, Donna extracted herself from his embrace and got up, stretching and yawning. Going to her walk-in wardrobe, she called, "Get up and get dressed, you lazy git. I'll meet you in the kitchen."

TBC


End file.
